About Aqueon Fish Foods: Aqueon foods contain only natural ingredients and contain no artificial colors. The colors of the foods are attributed to the actual ingredients in the formula, and help to bring out the natural colors in your fish, while keeping them energetic and healthy.

Aqueon Tropical Flakes Review

Overveiw:

Before reading this review, stop, go back and read the ingredient list identified above. To state the sometimes overlooked obvious, a fish food is the sum of it's ingredients. Good ingredients, you have a good food. Poor ingredients, you have a poor quality food. The ingredient list of Aqueon Tropical Flakes is very good.

Aqueon is a relative new comer to the Tropical Fish food market. Expanding out from their "All Glass" roots, Aqueon now has its feet in all aspects of the aquarium hobby. My original assumption was that Aqueon was an American version of Tetra, an offshoot of a conglomerate corporate entity with sub-par products for the less than knowledgeable Wal-Mart consumer.

I could not have been more wrong. While Aqueon is an American company and they are a daughter company to a much large corporate entity, it has become obvious to me that their focus is on manufacturing quality products. The old adage that, if you build a better product, they will come, certainly applies.

Aqueon Tropical flake food is no exception to that concept. Again, review the ingredient list. The use of "Whole Fish Meal" instead of simply "Fish Meal" is a positive sign, as is the use of "Whole Dried Krill" (although I wish the krill was listed ahead of the flour, which is a filler.) "Fish Meal" is usually manufactured out of the inedible scraps remaining after the better parts of the fish are processed for human consumption. The use of "Whole Fish Meal" is an indication those "better parts" are included in your fish flake food, not just the inedible scraps. While I wish Spirulina was higher on the list, it's inclusion is also a positive sign, as are all of the supplemental vitamins and minerals.

Nor does Aqueon use artificial colors. Perhaps the most significant benefit of Aqueon Fish Foods is the absence of ethoxyquin, a controversial preservative found in almost all pet feed. Since all fish meals imported into the United States must be preserved with ethoxyquin, by law, its absence in Aqueon Flake Food is an absolute indication that this, is, indeed, a United States manufactured product using raw materials that are not imported. I cannot state how impressive this simple concept is and what it means towards the health of your fish. Aqueon knows exactly where their raw materials come from, they know exactly the quality of these materials, and can both ensure and manage the end resulting feed. This is not a claim most pet feed companies can make, let alone manufacturers of fish flake food.

This is a flake food that makes you feel good that you are feeding it to your fish. Even better, you should feel good feeding this food to your fish. Unlike other examples, this is a product that is actually under marketed but assumed by many to be inferior because of the companies quick growth and market reach. This is an incorrect assumption. It is a quality food, using homegrown American raw materials, manufactured by an American Company.

This flake food is a staple in all of my tanks, excluding the Oscar Tank (Oscars do not need to be fed flakes). I feed it to livebearers, Angelfish, Tetras, and Gouramis. The food is readily accepted by all of my fish without the spitting out of flakes that I interpret as the fish not liking the flake food.

Pros:

Quality: I think I've covered this above. Not only do quality ingredients result in a quality product, but the fact that Aqueon can track their raw materials from beginning to end ensures they can maintain quality of their foods.

Ingredients: "Whole Fish Meal" instead of "Fish Meal", "Whole Krill Meal" instead of "Krill (or shrimp) Meal". The word "Whole" means a lot when it comes to Fish Foods (or any Pet Food, for that matter). Plus, Aqueons use of "Whole Fish Meal" indicates you can trust the sequence of ingredients in the ingredient list as the included products are listed at their dry weight, not their wet weight. So what you see is what you get.

Flake Size: This flake food is a good size for its intended use. If you want to feed this flake to large fish, you need to look elsewhere. This is a perfect sized flake for fish the size of Angelfish and smaller.

Palatability: Fish will devour this food. With some flake food, fish will take them in, find them distasteful, and spit them back out. Not so with Aqueon Freshwater Flakes

Availability: In a short amount of time, Aqueon has managed to extend its reach into every market imaginable. Their foods are available everywhere.

Made in the USA: An American company, with American ownership, American employees, using American raw materials.

Does not contain Ethoxyquin: Ethoxyquin is a fat preservative found in almost all pet foods that contain fish meal. It's hard to escape as it is required by law to be included in any imported fish meals. Regardless, despite USDA guarantees of it's safety (they say the unhealthy affects are "dose dependent"), Ethoxyquin is widely accepted to be a cause of numerous pet ailments (cancer, liver failure, birth defects, and infertility) and has subsequently been banned for inclusion in human foods. It's absence in Aqueon fish foods is a clear indication home grown ingredients are used and is a further indication of a food you can be happy feeding to your fish.

Expect vivid coloration, not possible with other diets, as a direct result of the high levels of pure cultured spirulina and highly purified astaxanthin in Hikari Cichlid Bio-Gold+. The addition of beneficial microorganisms provides improved digestion, rapid growth, reduced waste, and improved water quality. Stabilized Vitamin C promotes resistance to stress and immunity to infectious disease for long-term health.

Feeding Suggestions:Feed two to three times daily the amount your fish will eat within a few minutes. Remove all remaining food after the feeding period to avoid over-feeding and the water quality problems associated with this action. The benefits of Hikari Cichlid Bio-Gold® Plus will only be realized with continued, uninterrupted use.

Hikari Cichlid Bio-Gold+ Review

Overveiw:

There are few products on the market I can endorse and recommend as much as Hikari Bio-Gold Plus. This is my food of choice. Unlike most foods, the marketing actually understates the benefits.

This is a quality food, with quality ingredients, that my fish love, with added benefits of probiotics not offered by other foods.

What makes this product unique is the "Hikari-Germ", which is a specific strain of Bacillus bacteria. This bacteria proliferates inside the intestines of the fish resulting in increased rate of digestion and reduced waste.

Pros:

Availability: I can't recall a pet store that I've walked into that had fish, but not Hikari fish food. This stuff is everywhere, including this "top-of-the-line" Hikari product. However, I buy this product online at substantial savings over an LFS.

Quality: This is a top of the line Hikari product, decades in development, with the beneficial micro-organisms originally being developed for use in Koi feed. Hikari does not purchase ingredients from other locations (such as China) in order to ensure the quality of their product.

Reduced Waste: This is a huge benefit that is understated by Hikari marketing. I've experienced as much as a 50% reduction in waste accumulation within filters and the substrate. This is a byproduct of the "Hikari Germ", which results in improved digestion of the food while ensuring subsequent waste is almost of a powdery consistency. In addition, the "Hikari-Germ" continues to break down the waste even in the fish's poo. Think about it, if you can achieve a 50% reduction in waste by feeding this food, your filters can go twice as long between cleanings and the biomedia is less likely to become clogged over time. I consider this food an intregal part of my overall fish keeping philosophy of managing waste, reducing heterotrophic bacteria populations, and maintaining clean biomedia.

Reduced Risk of Bloat: Fish fed a primarily dry diet are at an increased risk of developing constipation which can lead to bloat. This food minimizes that concern as the "Hikari-Germ" aids in the break down of the food once it is in the fish's intestines.

Growth and Coloration: I've had no foods pack on the growth quite like this one does. This is a result of the quality ingredients and improved digestion. NLS does a better job of improving coloration but I consider the trade-off to be more than acceptable. I've fed this food to everything from Discus, to Angelfish, to Convicts, to Oscars (of course), to firemouths, to community fish. It works.

Does not contain Ethoxyquin: Ethoxyquin is a fat preservative found in almost all pet foods that contain fish meal. It's hard to escape as it is required by law to be included in any imported fish meals. Regardless, despite USDA guarantees of it's safety (they say the unhealthy affects are "dose dependent"), Ethoxyquin is widely accepted to be a cause of numerous pet ailments (cancer, liver failure, birth defects, and infertility) and has subsequently been restricted for inclusion in human foods. No Hikari foods contain ethoxyquin.

Cons:

Cost: This food can be expensive, especially if purchased in an LFS. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Pellet Size: Many consider the largest Hikari Bio-Gold+ Pellet to be too small for large cichlids such as an adult oscar. I actually consider this the perfect pellet size as there is no "waste" shot out of the gills during consumption. The fish just consumes the pellets as they are small enough to be consumed without a major crunching.

Pellet Shelf Life and Storage: Care must be taken in the care and storage of the pellet. The "Hikari-Germ" is considered "viable" in that it is in a dormant state until the pellet reaches the fish's gut. But my experience is that the "Hikari-Germ" can become non-viable, in that the primary benefit of this food is no longer achieved if the product is improperly stored. I keep the bag sealed in a cool dark location, only opening it once a week to dump pellets from the bag into an empty Tetra flake food container. The bag is then resealed and stored while I feed during the week from the Tetra Flake Food container. You don't want sunlight hitting this food, keep it free from temperature extremes, and, more so than other foods, you want to keep it moisture free. I keep those little desiccant capsules found in medicine bottles in both the sealed bag and the Flake food container I feed from.

Designed especially for aquarium fish that belong to the Cichlid family

Vitamin enriched for cichlid health

Hikari Cichlid Gold is enriched with vitamins and supplements to provide balanced nutrition, disease immunity, and improved growth rate. Contains color enhancers carotene and shrimp meal to bring out brilliant colors and natural beauty and form in your cichlids. Available in Baby, Mini, Medium, and Large sizes.

Hikari Cichlid Gold/Staple Review

by Rush

Overveiw:

I have been feeding my cichlids Hikari Cichlid Gold, and Hikari Cichlid Staple for several years. I have been very pleased with this product. Hikari is a mainstream name in the Fish Food market. They have been around for decades and offer food for Koi, Cichlids, Marine fish, and even Reptiles. This is a solid product. The Cichlid Gold is a color enhancing pellet which consists mainly of protein (40% crude protein). The Cichlid Staple is health food. It contains a boosted amount of Vitamin C which promotes a healthy immune system. Both can be fed as a daily food source, though a varied diet is important.

Pros:

Availability: I can't recall a petstore that I've walked into that had fish, but not Hikari fish food. This stuff is everywhere.

Taste: I've only had a handful of cichlids that ever turned down Hikari foods. Most of them refused to eat the Hikari Cichlid Staple, but still ate the Hikari Cichlid Gold.

Quality: Hikari is a good product. You can't go wrong with either of these foods in my opinion.

Does not contain Ethoxyquin: Ethoxyquin is a fat preservative found in almost all pet foods that contain fish meal. It's hard to escape as it is required by law to be included in any imported fish meals. Regardless, despite USDA guarantees of it's safety (they say the unhealthy affects are "dose dependent"), Ethoxyquin is widely accepted to be a cause of numerous pet ailments (cancer, liver failure, birth defects, and infertility) and has subsequently been banned for inclusion in human foods. No Hikari foods contain ethoxyquin (although they do use MSG as a preservative).

Cons:

I've found that for some juvenile cichlids, the Hikari Cichlid Gold/Staple pellets are difficult to chew (for lack of a better term.) I found this especially true for the Mini sized pellets. For young juveniles who's palates are not quite fully developed it may be hard for them to chew the Mini pellets because they are quite hard.

This is the premium Antarctic Krill harvested in the pristine waters off the coast of Antarctica. The food value of this crustacean is very high providing high protein and valuable nutrients and minerals some of which are not found in other foods. Its exoskeleton contains high levels of natural color enhancing pigments in the form of astaxanthin. It is also among the most costly of food for your fish due to the distance it must travel to reach our market. The difficulty in harvesting in cold waters, and it's superior nutrient value keeps it a much used ingredient in many prepared foods and also used as a special breeding conditioning food for many breeders.

Ken's Fish Freeze Dried Krill Superba Review

by Kmuda

Overveiw:

Off all of the freeze dried krill brands I've tried, none come close to the "freshness" and quality of this speciality food from www.kensfish.com. It is well worth the slight extra expense of other brands. Krill is well known for containing high levels of astaxanthin, a nutrient that will seriously enhance the orange and red coloration of Oscar fish.

The 1/4lb bag from Ken's fish completely fills a 900ML Azoo Freeze Dried Krill can (the largest can Azoo offers) and will last a good while. Once you open the vacum packed bag, you will notice the difference between this freeze dried krill and others. It smells fresh, almost good enough for you to eat.

I consider this an excellent supplemental food to an Oscar fish diet.

Pros:

Quality: This is the best quality freeze dried krill I've come across. Unlike other brands, it has not dried and crumbled. What you recieve and what you feed your fish are whole krill not krill dust.

Health Benefits: A diet too heavy in dried foods can cause constipation which can lead to blockage. While this is labeled as a "dry food", it actually contains more moisture than most pellets and the shells from the krill also act much in the same way as added fiber does to our diet. High in protein, containing high levels of astaxanthin, this is a quality supplement to your Oscar's diet.

Texture: It's a freeze dried food, but it does retain enough moisture so that it does not crumble. Nor do Oscar's (or other large cichlids" find it difficult to eat. Even the larger pieces are consumed with obvious glee and, because it does not easily crumble, the entire krill is consumed. Pieces of it are not turned to dust and shot out the fish's gills.

Cost: For such a high quality food, it is low cost compared to other brands at around $9 for 1/4lbs.

Cons:

Availability: You can only order this online at www.kensfish.com, or catch Ken at one of the many hobby shows where he sets up his booths.

Container Size:There is no "trial size" for this food, the smallest container size is 1/4lb, which is basically the equivalent of the largest containers of competitive products. But I prefer to buy in bulk anyway.

Storage: Ken ships his foods in vacuum packed bags, which is great until you open it. Then what? Once opened, I transfer the contents of the bag to a 900ML Azoo (freeze dried shrimp) container but you could also use a large zip locked bag.

Provides essential elements found in the natural environment that are missing in aquariums

New Life Spectrum Large Fish Formula 3mm Sinking Pellet Fish Food

New Life Spectrum Large Fish Formula is a hormone-free, color enhancing formula. Spectrum food is made with high-quality easily digestible krill, herring and squid protein with all-natural color-enhancing ingredients for a balanced diet that boosts immune system function and enhances the full spectrum of your fish's color. Formulated for all types of marine and freshwater species, including omnivore, herbivore and carnivore. It provides essential elements found in the natural environment that are missing in aquariums.

With the belief that all fish require a complete and fully balanced varied diet, New Life also contains algae meal, that consists of seaweed, kelp, and haematococcus pluvialis (a micro algae), a premium grade of natural spirulina, as well as a fruit and vegetable extract that consists of spinach, red and green cabbage, peas, broccoli, red pepper, zucchini, tomato, kiwi, apricot, pear, mango, apple, papaya, and peach. All New Life Spectrum products also contain a generous inclusion rate of garlic (Allium Sativum).

Our premium line of fish food is made in the USA, in an FDA approved state-of-the-art facility. All of the ingredients used in New Life Spectrum premium fish foods are thoroughly analyzed and certified, ensuring only the highest grade of quality and purity in each and every container of our food.

Feed twice daily. Amount given should be completely consumed within 1-2 minutes.

Guaranteed Analysis

New Life Spectrum: Community Fish Formula Review

by Rush

Overview:

New Life Spectrum has an excellent variety to choose from. The great thing about these products is they are specialized exactly for their label (community fish, discus, cichlids, etc.). I've only been using the New Life Spectrum foods for 3 years or so, but I can already tell you that they are a great product. I use the Community fish formula for obviously, my community aquarium. Fish like tetras, barbs, danios, loaches, small catfish, and small cichlids really do well with this food. It's very small, and it sinks. It's devoured by all fish, and thus far it has given my fish great growth and great color. NLS also makes Pellets for larger fish that do well for young and juvie oscars but finding larger NLS pellets for adult Oscars can be difficult.

This is a highly recommend food, considered amongst the best available

Pros:

Results: This food will give you results. It boasts "horomone free" color enhancing properties and ingredients that will boost immune system function. When compared to other foods I've tried, NLS does produce better coloration.

A marketing statement from the manufacturer that I find to be true.

Feed New Life Spectrum® fish food exclusively for 10 days.

You will begin to notice enhancement in color and vitality of your fish or we will simply refund your money. Please Note: your fish will continue to improve in color and overall health over the next 30 days.

Taste: All of my fish love this food. I've even seen my plecostomus try to eat it!

Cleanliness: This is a clean food. It doesn't crumble or cloud like flake foods.

Ingredients: The NLS ingredient list is outstanding, perhaps the best availble. Instead of "Fish Meal", which usually indicates the meal is developed from leftovers unusable elsewhere (scales, skin, bones), "Whole Krill Meal" and "Whole Herring Meal" make up a majority of the food, which means they used the whole animal, not just the leftovers. Since "meals" are used, the order in which ingredients are listed can be trusted as they are listed at their dry weight. Nor does NLS utilize the questionable practice of "product splitting" with "Wheat Flour" being the only wheat product listed. Again, an indication that the ingredient order can be trusted as accurate, with the content of meat products far out weighing the fillers. The inclusion of spirulinia, as well as fruit and vegitable extract, in combination with krill being the most used ingredient, results in a pellet food that fullfils an Oscar fish's dietary requirements, closely simulating the natural diet of a wild Oscar.

Cons:

Pellet Size: Some types of this food are so small that unless you have a sand substrate, uneaten pellets will fall and find its way into the substrate. On the other side of the spectrum (pun intended) they really do not make a pellet size large enough for large fish such as cichlids (if they do, it's hard to find). The "Large Fish Formula" pellet is fine for fish the size of convicts but it a little too small for adult Oscars. (Kmuda Note: I was in PetCo 09/10/2011 and noticed an NLS "Jumbo Fish Formula" that is of sufficient size for even the largest Cichlid, so it appears NLS finally got the message, although it's a sinking pellet and I prefer a floating pellet).

Availability: Many New Life Spectrum foods are specialized, therefore they may not be available at every pet store you go to. You may have to order it online. (Kmuda Note: PetCo is now carrying NLS, as is BigAlsOnline.Com)

Product Confusion: There are so many NLS pellets, finding the "exact one" can be difficult. There are pellets for multiple species, floating pellets, sinking pellets, slow sinking pellets, garlic pellets, with many in three to four sizes.

Use of Ethoxyquin: Ethoxyquin is a fat preservative found in almost all pet foods that contain fish meal. It's hard to escape as it is required by law to be included in any imported fish meals. Despite USDA guarantees of it's safety (they say the unhealthy affects are dose dependent and classify the product as "GRAS" - Generally Recognized as Safe), Ethoxyquin is widely accepted to be a cause of numerous pet ailments (cancer, liver failure, birth defects, and infertility). The maximum allowable concentration of Ethoxyquin in human grade foods is 0.5ppm. The maximum allowable concentration in pet foods is 150ppm. Ethoxyquin may not be on the ingredient list of every NLS product label but it can be assumed to be a content of the food.